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Subject Index

Rule 76. Laundry, Dry-Cleaning, and Carpet Cleaning Services
Rule 77. Machinists, Foundry Men, and Pattern Makers
Rule 78. Meals Furnished by Hotels, Restaurants, Clubs, Etc.
Rule 79. Meals Sold by Schools, Hospitals, Etc.
Rule 80. Memorial Stone and Monument Vendors
Rule 81. Newspapers and Magazines
Rule 82. Off-Road Vehicles
Rule 83. Ophthalmologists, Opticians, and Optometrists
Rule 84. Orthotic, Prosthetic, Ostomy, Ileostomy, and Colostomy Devices, Wheelchairs, and Patient Aids
Rule 85. Oxygen, Acetylene, Hydrogen, and Liquefied Gas
Rule 86. Parking Lots, Etc.
Rule 87. Drugs
Rule 88. Photo Finishing and Photographers
Rule 89. Physicians and Medical Clinics
Rule 90. Printing Industry
Rule 91. Per Diem or Car Hire on Freight Cars, Piggy-Back Cars, and Rolling Stock; Repairs
Rule 92. Refinery Gas
Rule 93. School Books and Supplies
Rule 94. Self-Propelled Vehicles or Heavy Equipment
Rule 95. Ship Supplies
Rule 96. Shoe Repairing
Rule 97. Sign Painters and Manufacturers
Rule 98. Stocks, Bonds or Other Securities
Rule 99. Transportation Services
Rule 100. Tire and Tube Repair

Rule 76. Laundry, Dry-Cleaning, and Carpet Cleaning Services

A.     The furnishing of laundry, cleaning, pressing, and dyeing services is taxable. The cleaning of both immovable wall-to-wall carpets and movable rugs is taxable.

B.     The operation of coin-operated washing or drying machines in a commercial laundromat, which is an establishment engaged solely in the business of furnishing washing or drying laundry services by means of coin-operated machines, is not a taxable service.

C.     Operators of laundromats, laundry, dry-cleaning, and carpet cleaning services are consumers of all materials and supplies used by them in rendering their services, and sales to them of such materials and supplies are taxable retail sales. However, sales to laundries and dry-cleaning establishments of materials such as plastic bags, hangers, and fasteners, which will be delivered to their customers along with the articles laundered, cleaned or pressed, are sales for resale and may be purchased with a Resale Exemption Certificate.

Rule 77. Machinists, Foundry Men, and Pattern Makers

A.     Sales by machinists, foundry men, and pattern makers who fabricate and sell dies, castings, patterns, tools, lathes, drill and punch presses, machinery, structural steel castings, or other tangible personal property are taxable retail sales. When such sales are made to manufacturers or construction contractors not registered as dealers or other persons, such sales are not for the purpose of resale and tax must be collected with respect thereto. Any charges for labor or fabrication or other costs of production may not be deducted from the sales price in computing tax.

B.     Machinists and foundry men who repair tangible personal property of others are furnishing taxable services.

Rule 78. Meals Furnished by Hotels, Restaurants, Clubs, Etc.

A.     Sales of meals by hotels, restaurants, drive-ins, drugstores, private clubs, and establishments not specifically exempt under the ordinance are subject to tax. This is true whether individual meals are sold, whether a flat charge is made, or whether meals are furnished as a part of the compensation for services rendered.

B.     When employers, such as restaurants, furnish meals to employees as a part of the compensation for services of such employees, but make no specific charge, the tax shall be calculated upon the cost price of such meals. Sales of food to hotels, restaurants, and others are sales for resale which are not subject to tax.

C.      Food provided to customers on a complimentary basis is taxable. The tax shall be calculated upon the cost price of such food products.

Rule 79. Meals Sold by Schools, Hospitals, Etc.

A.     Public school boards, high school boards, churches, hospitals, religious organizations, colleges, universities, and private schools operating lunch rooms, cafeterias or dining rooms for the exclusive purpose of providing only their respective students, members, staff, or patients with meals are deemed not to be engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property at retail and are not liable for collection of sales tax with respect to such transactions. Purchases of food products by such institutions are exempt from local sales and use taxes.

B.     When any cafeteria, lunch or dining room is available for use by the public, the school, hospital, college, church, university, or religious organization operating it is deemed to be in the business of selling tangible personal property at retail and is liable for collecting the sales tax on the sale of such meals to the public. The school, hospital, college, church, university, or religious organization, in this case, may provide a Resale Exemption Certificate to its vendor for the purchase of the food.

Rule 80. Memorial Stone and Monument Vendors

Memorial stones are tangible personal property and when sold to users or consumers, the sale thereof is taxable. When the seller of a memorial stone agrees to install such stone or monument upon a foundation, a segregation must be made of materials used and labor charged. The seller may deduct such labor charges or services when computing the tax, if a segregation is made on the invoice. Failure to make a segregation subjects the entire amount to tax.

Rule 81. Newspapers and Magazines

Sales of newspapers and magazines are not taxable.

Rule 82. Off-Road Vehicles

Dealers of off-road vehicles, as defined in Louisiana Revised Statute 47:301(17), are responsible for collecting and remitting the tax on sales of all such vehicles, notwithstanding that they are also dealers of motor vehicles subject to registration and licensing by the Motor Vehicle Commissioner.

Rule 83. Ophthalmologists, Opticians, and Optometrists

A.     The taxability of transactions by ophthalmologists, opticians, and optometrists depends upon the nature of the transaction.

B.     Opticians are engaged in the sale of tangible personal property. When such sales are to the ultimate consumer, the sales are taxable retail sales. When the sales are to optometrists or ophthalmologists who use them in the rendition of professional services to their patients, the sales are likewise taxable retail sales. When the sales are to ophthalmologists or optometrists for the purpose of reselling them to their patients, then the sales would be sales for resale and could be made under a Resale Exemption Certificate.

C.     The charges of an ophthalmologist or optometrist for his professional services are not taxable. If glasses or contact lenses are furnished as a part of the rendition of such services and an overall fee is charged, no tax is due. In such cases, the ophthalmologist or optometrist is a user or consumer of the eyeglasses, contact lenses, and other materials employed in rendering services and tax is owed thereon by the ophthalmologist or optometrist. If a separate charge is made for the glasses or contact lenses, the sale is a taxable retail sale.

D.     Some ophthalmologists or optometrists also maintain their own optical laboratories in which they prepare and assemble the glasses or contact lenses furnished to their patients. If a separate charge is made to the patient for glasses or contact lenses, then tax is due on such charge, and the materials which were used in the preparation of the glasses or contact lenses are being purchased for resale and may be purchased under a Resale Exemption Certificate. If no separate charge is made, then the optometrist or ophthalmologist is deemed to be the user of such glasses or contact lenses and his purchase of such materials is taxable.

E.     Eyeglasses and contact lenses sold at retail, as a result of a prescription written by either an optometrist or ophthalmologist, are considered orthotic devices and are exempt from the 1/2% Sewer tax, the 1/2% Street Improvement tax, and the 1% Educational Facilities Improvement District tax for sales in this Parish.

Rule 84. Orthotic, Prosthetic, Ostomy, Ileostomy, and Colostomy Devices, Wheelchairs, and Patient Aids

Sales of orthotic, prosthetic, ostomy, ileostomy, and colostomy devices, wheelchairs, and patient aids are sales of tangible personal property subject to tax. However, the 1/2% Sewer tax, 1/2% Street Improvement tax, and the 1% Educational Facilities Improvement District tax provide an exemption for those devices. Eyeglasses and contact lenses prescribed by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist are also exempt from the above taxes when sold at retail.

(See Rule 1.)

Rule 85. Oxygen, Acetylene, Hydrogen, and Liquefied Gas

Sales of oxygen, acetylene, hydrogen, and liquefied gas (butane, propane, etc.) to manufacturers, processors, refiners, repairmen, contract welders, dentists or junk dealers, or for use as fuel or illumination, are sales to consumers or users and are subject to tax. If such products are sold to dealers for resale in their original state or for use for further processing, such sales are not subject to tax.

(See also Rule 67.)

Rule 86. Parking Lots, Etc.

The furnishing of parking privileges by parking garages and parking lots is a taxable service. Persons who regularly furnish space for the parking or storage of automobiles, trucks, trailers or other vehicles are deemed to be operators of parking lots or parking garages. Charges made for parking  recreational vehicles at campgrounds and parks are taxable. The total charges made for such storage or parking privileges are taxable whether such charges are made by hotels, hospitals or any other person.

Valet parking charges are considered part of the parking service and are taxable. Valet parking charges are taxable even when parking is "free" and there is a charge only for valet parking.

Rental of real property for a flat fee is not taxable when the property is used for parking and no parking fees are collected from individual parkers.

Rule 87. Drugs

The sale of drugs, whether by prescription or over the counter, is taxable. The sale of prescription drugs is exempt from the tax levied for sewers and sewerage disposal works, the tax levied for street improvements, and the tax levied by the Educational Facilities Improvement District.

Rule 88. Photo Finishing and Photographers

A.     Photo finishing involves the developing of negatives and the printing of finished pictures. If a single charge is made for both operations, the entire charge is taxable. If separate charges are made for the developing of the negatives and the printing of the pictures, only the charge for the printing is taxable.

B.     The tinting or coloring of photographs by a photo finisher constitutes a non-taxable service.

C.     Sales to photographers of materials which become an ingredient or component part of the finished picture, such as mounts, frames, and sensitized papers, are sales for resale and are not taxable. Sales of materials such as chemicals, plates, proof paper, trays, etc., which are used or consumed in the manufacture or fabrication of pictures and do not become an ingredient or component part thereof, and sales of materials to be used or consumed in the tinting or coloring of photographs, are taxable.

D.     Sales of frames, film, portraits, and other articles by photographers or photo finishers are taxable retail sales.

(See Rule 105 - Videographers.)

A.     Physicians, surgeons, and medical clinics are the consumers of the various items of tangible personal property which they use or consume in the rendition of their professional services, and sales to them of such items are taxable.

B.     Tax does not apply to the fee for professional services rendered by physicians and surgeons. If physicians and surgeons sell to their patients medicines, medical supplies, bandages, and the like, they must register as dealers and collect and remit the tax on such sales.

A.      Sales by printers of advertising circulars, books, briefs, envelopes, folders, posters, racing forms, shopping guides, tickets, and other printed matter to persons who do not resell such articles in the regular course of business, but who either use or consume them, or lease or distribute them free of charge, are subject to tax. The cost of labor, author's alterations or other service charges in performing the printing may not be deducted from the sales price even though such charges are stated or shown on any evidence of sale separately from the charge for the printed material, since such charges are considered an integral part of the articles sold.

B.     When stamped envelopes or government postals are purchased and printed for customers or when stamps are provided, the charge for the postage may be deducted in determining the sales price.

C.     Sales of printed matter to advertising agencies who purchase for their own use or for the use of their clients, and not for resale in the regular course of business, are taxable retail sales.

D.     Sales of tickets to theater owners, amusement operators, transportation companies, and others are sales for consumption and subject to tax. Such tickets are not resold by the purchasers as tangible personal property, but are used merely as a receipt to patrons for payment and as evidence of the right to admission or transportation. Sales of school annuals and similar publications by printers to schools or student organizations therein are subject to tax.

E.     Sales by printers of books, envelopes, folders, posters, racing forms, stationery, tickets, and other printed matter to dealers for resale in the regular course of business are not retail sales and are not subject to tax.

F.     The binding and rebinding of books for others is taxable as a fabrication.

G.     The purchases and sales of the following, including all chemical supplies necessary to produce such items, whether manufactured by a printer or purchased from a subcontractor, are not taxable:

1. Artwork
2. Blankets and bars
3. Chemicals
4. Color separations
5. Dies
6. Film, including negatives
7. Offset plates
8. Press proofs and photomechanical proofs
9. Layouts
10. Typesetting
11. Rubber plates
12. Paper
13. Ink

H.     The sale of a plate to a particular customer and the purchase of equipment and furniture by printers is taxable.

Rule 91. Per Diem or Car Hire on Freight Cars, Piggy-Back Cars, and Rolling Stock; Repairs

A.     The sales, use, and lease tax shall not apply to:

1. Hourly, daily or periodic mileage or other charges referred to as "per diem or car hire" on freight cars and other rolling stock, when such charges are paid by reason of the presence of freight cars and other rolling stock owned by another on the tracks of the taxpayer;
   
   

2. Piggy-back trailers or containers when brought into or operated as piggy-back trailers or containers in the Parish; and
   
   

3. Rolling stock, such as engines, switch engines, freight cars, and machinery owned, operated or leased by a railroad or any other person, firm or corporation.

B.     Repairs made in the Parish to railroad rolling stock, such as engines, switch engines, freight cars, boxcars, and tank cars, are subject to tax. If the rolling stock is repaired out-of-parish and is returned to the Parish, a use tax is due on any materials added to the rolling stock during the repair. If labor charges are not separately stated on the out-of-parish repair invoice, the entire amount of the repair is subject to use tax. A credit against the use tax due will be granted to taxpayers who have paid an equal or greater local tax in another local taxing jurisdiction for the rolling stock repair.

Rule 92. Refinery Gas

A.     Refinery gas is subject to tax. Refinery gas is defined as a "waste" gas or "by-product" gas which is produced in the process of distilling crude petroleum into its marketable products.

B.     The annual cost basis computed by the Louisiana Department of Revenue shall be the value at which such refinery gas is taxed.

C.     The sales price of refinery gas, when sold at retail, wholesale, or for further processing, shall be the average of the monthly spot market price per thousand cubic feet of natural gas delivered into pipelines in Louisiana as reported by the Natural Gas Clearing House and as determined by the Department of Revenue for natural gas severance tax purposes at the time of such sale, or the price for which such property is actually sold, whichever is greater, and such sale shall be taxable (Act 29, 1996).

D.     The "cost price" of refinery gas shall be 52 cents per thousand cubic feet multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the posted price for a barrel of West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil on December first of the preceding calendar year and the denominator of which shall be $29, and provided further that such cost price shall be the maximum value placed upon refinery gas by the state and by any political subdivision under any authority or grant of power to levy and collect use taxes.

Rule 93. School Books and Supplies

A.     Sales of school books by persons engaged in the business of selling such books to users or consumers are subject to tax.

B.     Purchases of school books by public schools for distribution to students or for library purchases are exempt from local sales and use tax (Act 1029,1991). Effective July 1, 1997, purchases of school books, work books, computer software, films, videos, and audio tapes by approved private and parochial schools are exempt from local sales and use tax (Act 15, 1996).

C.     When publishers or proprietors of bookstores sell books to school boards strictly for the purpose of filling orders previously taken for the same from students and such school boards do not maintain any stock of books or engage in the business of selling books, such school boards are deemed to be the agents of the student and such sales are retail sales subject to tax.

D.     Publishers or proprietors of bookstores selling books to school boards, teachers or other persons operating bookstores and maintaining stocks of books for the purpose of resale to school students are deemed to make sales for the purpose of resale. In such cases, the purchasing school board, teachers or other persons operating such bookstores and engaged in the business of making sales at retail shall be responsible for collecting and remitting the tax upon such retail sales. In all cases, the burden of proof shall be upon the publishers or proprietors of the bookstores to show that any particular sale was made for the purpose of resale.

E.     This rule applies with equal force to sales of writing paper, drawing materials, ink, laboratory, and other school supplies.

Rule 94. Self-Propelled Vehicles or Heavy Equipment

Louisiana Revised Statute 47:305.22 provides an exemption from local sales/use taxes for self-propelled vehicles or heavy equipment which were purchased or imported tax-free for resale and are subsequently withdrawn from resale inventory, for rental, as a method for promoting sales. To be eligible for this exemption, the equipment must (1) be of a type not subject to titling under Louisiana Revised Statutes, Title 32; (2) have a dealer's cost of not less than $3,000 per unit; (3) be mobile, motorized, self-propelled farm equipment and attachments thereto; and/or (4) mobile, motorized, self-propelled earth-moving equipment and attachments thereto; and/or (5) mobile, motorized, self-propelled construction equipment and attachments thereto. The dealer shall be liable for the tax levied on the rental income and a sales tax upon any ultimate sale of said item.

Rule 95. Ship Supplies

The sale of materials and supplies, the furnishing of repair services, the sale of materials and supplies used in such repairs when they enter into and become a component part of ships or vessels operating exclusively in foreign or interstate coastwise commerce, and laundry services when purchased by owners and operators of such vessels, are not subject to tax. The seller of materials or supplies or the furnisher of repairs or laundry services shall secure from the purchaser an exemption certificate furnished by the Finance Director and signed by the purchaser, stating that such materials and supplies are to be used exclusively in vessels operating in foreign or interstate coastwise commerce. Any dealer who fails to secure such an exemption certificate will be held liable for and must pay the tax himself.

Rule 96. Shoe Repairing

The charges of shoe repairmen for the services of shoe repairing, shining or rebuilding are subject to tax. Sales to shoe repairmen of materials such as sole leather, rubber heels, thread, and nails, which become a part of the articles repaired, are sales for resale and are not subject to tax.

Rule 97. Sign Painters and Manufacturers

A.     Persons engaged in the business of painting signs on buildings or other real or personal property belonging to others are furnishing non-taxable services. However, sales of paint, brushes, and other tangible personal property to such sign painters are taxable retail sales.

B.      When a sign painter fabricates and paints a sign from his own material or from materials supplied by his customer and sells it to the customer as a finished article, the transaction is a taxable retail sale. No deductions may be made from the selling price for labor or service charges.

C.      Sales of electric, neon or other illuminated signs, whether manufactured by the seller or not, are taxable retail sales. If at the time of such sale, the seller contracts to furnish periodic maintenance or repair service for a flat charge, including the purchase price of the sign, the total gross proceeds are taxable. If the charges for maintenance or repair services are rendered subsequent to the sale, such charges are taxed as sales of service. If the maintenance contract includes non-taxable services, such as insurance and inspection, the portion of the charge representing the cost of inspecting and insurance may be excluded from the taxable amount if such charges are segregated in the contract and on the invoice.

Rule 98. Stocks, Bonds or Other Securities

The term "tangible personal property" does not include stocks, bonds, notes, or other obligations or securities, and accordingly, the sale of such is not subject to tax.

Rule 99. Transportation Services

The tax does not apply to the furnishing of transportation services by taxi, boat, bus, or other instrumentalities for a fare. It does apply to the rental of such instrumentalities when the price paid is in the form of a rental and not a fare.

Rule 100. Tire and Tube Repair

Persons engaged in repairing and vulcanizing tires and tubes and retreading tires are performing taxable services. The gross proceeds derived from such services are subject to tax. Materials and supplies purchased for use in performing such repairs, which become a part of the articles repaired, are deemed purchased for resale and may be purchased tax-free under a Resale Exemption Certificate.

Rules 101-128